County sees slight decline in unemployment

Wednesday

Aug 28, 2013 at 10:42 AM

The Davidson County unemployment rate in July was more than a percentage point lower than a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday.

The Davidson County unemployment rate in July was more than a percentage point lower than a year ago, according to figures released Wednesday by the North Carolina Department of Commerce — Labor and Economic Analysis Division.The July unemployment rate for Davidson County was 9.6 percent, which was .1 percentage point lower than June. The county unemployment rate last year at this time was 10.7 percent.Larry Parker, public information director for the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security in Raleigh, says the biggest factor in this change is a drop in the labor force in Davidson County since last year. Davidson County lost 1,363 people in the labor force over the last 12 months. The labor force is the number of people in the county who are currently working and the number of people who are unemployed but are actively looking for work. “There can be many factors for a drop in the labor force,” said Parker. “It could be because people move, it could be people retire, it could be people are finding jobs outside the county or it could be some people have just stopped looking for work.”Davidson County’s rate in July ranked 53rd of the state’s 100 counties. There were 77,306 people in the labor force, with 7,404 unemployed.The North Carolina unemployment rate for July was 9.1 percent, down from 9.3 percent in June and 10 percent in July 2012. The unemployment rate fell in 81 counties in North Carolina in July, rose in nine and stayed the same in 10. Sixty-two counties had rates between 5 and 10 percent while 38 had rates at 10 percent or above. The national unemployment rate for July was 7.4 percent.In surrounding counties, Randolph’s rate was 9 percent, Rowan was 9.3, Davie was 8.1, Montgomery was 10, Forsyth was 8.8, and Guilford was 9.6.“We have seen an overall steady decline in unemployment,” said Parker. “It is slow progress, but it’s progress. We are seeing job growth in just about every sector except construction and government.”This is the first unemployment statistic released after the North Carolina Legislature changed the North Carolina Employment Security Law by no longer accepting funds for federal extension of benefits, better known as the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program. The bill slashed the unemployment benefit amount to a maximum of $350 per week and cut the maximum number of weeks of benefits to 20 weeks, despite the fact that many unemployment insurance recipients in the state exhaust their benefits without finding a job.“It will take time to see how the new law effects the unemployment rate,” said Parker. “It is going to be difficult to determine how it will change the work force. I hope people will continue to use our service and the new job search engine.”

Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.